Paroxysm
by Sora788
Summary: Riku hates his brothers because they embarrass him everyday in college. He wants to get the girl of his dreams, but in order to do that, he disses his brothers. OOC/AU. KH X Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children. Please Review! Thanks.
1. My Brothers

Title: Paroxysm  
Author: Sora788  
Rating: T (mild langauge)  
Summary: Riku hates his brothers and tries to get the girl of his dreams, but all goes wrong.  
Type: OOC/AU Crossings: Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy Vii Advent Children  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line. )  
Note: Please review. Thanks. Also, you may need to know some background of FF7 Advent Children, if you have any questions about what they are talking about, please ask me ;)  
**Definition of Paroxysm**:  
--Noun--  
1.any sudden, violent outburst; a fit of violent action or emotion  
2. a sudden uncontrollable attack 

Paroxysm

Chapter 1: My Brothers

_  
ThumpThumpThump_

Stupid, damn, crappy…  
_  
ThumpThumpThump_

Imbecile, cretin, foolish…

_ThumpThumpThump_

"Stop doing that moron!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and hid beneath the teal covers. I shut my eyes real tight and took a deep breath. My dumb brother continued to bang on my wall. Unfortunately for me, the wall beside me was joined with his room.

"I said stop it!"

For a moment, it was quiet. Finally, peace and serenity, but then I heard the faint sounds of rushing footsteps come to my door. Damn.

_Click._

I heard the door unlock and flung open with a big bang. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse…

"Get up Big Brother! You will be late for school!" Yazoo's voice said anxiously. I could hear him coming closer to me, oh no, please don't.

He grabbed onto my arm and jerked me into a sitting position. God, I will kill him for touching me. This is not cool. He looked at me with his identical aquamarine eyes and smiled nervously. "You are going to be late". Meet brother Number 4.

"I don't want to go." I don't mean to whine, but going to college everyday with my dumb brothers is a pain. Everyday the same thing goes on and they embarrass the hell out of me too. Sometimes I wish I would die in my sleep just to get rid of the humiliation.

Yazoo chuckled softly, "No, you have to. C'mon." Saying that, he released me and got out of my room. Before he got too far away, I bellowed, "Don't ever touch me again, or come in my room!"

"Calm down Big Brother…" He answered back as he strolled down the stairs.

"Stop freaking calling me Big Brother! I have a name and it's Riku, so use it!!!" I hate being called "Big Brother". It sounds so dumb and it reminds me that I have three stupid idiots for brothers. Why me?

I glanced at my watch, it was forty minutes past seven. I have five minutes to get ready, then five minutes for breakfast, and a ten minutes drive to get there by eight o'clock sharp. That left no minutes to linger around the hallways or campus. Damn, Yazoo was right. I was going to be late. Well, maybe not but I wanted to have some time left over do certain things. Oh well…

Slipping into some random graphic shirt and baggy jeans, I ran a brush through my long silver hair and quickly brushed my teeth. I splashed some water on my face, and then ran out the bathroom and into the kitchen.

My two other brothers stood by the counter eating cereal or something. Loz, a cry baby and brother Number 5, was busy bickering with Kadaj, the cruel, controlling freak and brother Number 3. It was like looking in a mirror, we all look so much a like. All of us possessed silver hair, blue-green eyes, and a fair complexion. There has to be some mistake. I am not related to these people.

Well, I don't know what the hell they were arguing about, but when they saw me standing in front of them, they forgot what they were mad about and exclaimed in unison, "Good morning Big Brother!"

Oh…my…God…I think I'm about to explode my guts out.

"Stop calling me that. Call me Riku!" I tried not to yell at them, only because if I did yell like I did with Yazoo, Loz would break down in sobs. I think he is emotionally instable and I keep forgetting to call a psychologist to help him out. That's why he's an embarrassment to me and to mankind, he cries for every damn thing that happens. But, what baffles me is that he would have no problem fighting others, he's violent inside. He's not afraid to fight back or hurt someone, but when it comes to his brother (especially me) he gets emo-tional.

Kadaj is the one who always likes telling others what to do, but since I am older than him, he listens to what I say. It's nice being the one who has the control. If I yelled, he'd get mad at himself for me yelling at him. Good.

But no matter what I do or say, they all refuse to call me Riku. I hate it. It's like they don't understand anything. Another thing, they all fuss about the same damn thing over and over and over and over and over. I bet it's going to spill out any moment now…

Yazoo was busy making scrambled eggs and French toast over the stove. I think that's for me, but I really, really hope it isn't. I don't like eggs, or French toast, or Yazoo's cooking. I noticed he wore a black and white checkered apron around his waist, I am afraid to ask why he's even wearing that thing, even though I may already know the answer.

I took a seat at the vacant kitchen table and gazed at the three idiots in front of me. I just know it's coming, any moment now…

"I miss Mother." Yazoo said softly as he dumped the eggs onto a plate.

Oh…my…God…I want to plunge Yazoo's head in the sizzling oil that swam in the frying pan right now just for saying that.

There it was, this 'Mother' crap. Every damn day, one of them has to mention Mother. She doesn't exist, she's dead, gone, not here, nowhere, someplace else, and I don't even care. These three idiots are obsessed with finding our so called 'Mother' and they won't shut up about it.

"Mother doesn't exist." I said aloud. There I said it. What now!!? The moment those words came out of my mouth, Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo shot mean glances at me.

"Don't talk like that about Mother!" Kadaj roared angrily, his eyes bore deeply into mine as if trying to use laser rays to kill me for saying that.

"You meanie!", Loz cried out, trying to refrain a sob or two. He looked back down at his empty cereal bowl and took deep breathes, trying to calm down.

"I will not have you talk to Mother that way!" Yazoo fought back; he hated it when I talked like that.

I couldn't restrain myself, "But it's true!!! She isn't here. I don't care about Mother." What mother did we have? We were just four college students living in a place called Midgar all by ourselves in this shabby, rundown condo. We don't need this 'Mother'. Our mother probably abandoned us when she saw what freaks she gave birth to. I think that she forgot to take me along with her when she ditched us because clearly, I am the brightest out of this bunch, who would want to leave me anyhow?

Yazoo walked over to me, I think he was going to spill everything on my head, but he didn't, instead he placed the hot plate in front of me and smiled. "I hope you like it."

I stared at what was before me: undercooked eyes with the yellow yolk slithering around and soggy French toast. Yum…EW…

"Thanks", I muttered under my breath. I am going to throw up because this looks like as if somebody already ate this and regurgitated it back out for me to eat.

Hurriedly, I rushed out of the house before anyone else. Gosh, they're not mentally slow but physically as well. I leaned against my dark blue 1958 Chevrolet coupe, who I call Faith. I had her since high school. We have gone through about everything together: good, bad, and extreme. From my first driver's test to my first traffic ticket Every time I'm sad or feeling low, I would ride in her around good old Midgar. I'd cry, laugh, and practically live in this car. You may think it's absurd, but that's fine with me. I doubt that I will ever depart with her, ever.

The keys dangled around my finger while I waited for the three weirdoes to hurry up. My eyes darted around our condo. Damn, it's so messed up. A few window shutters were dangling in the breeze, swaying lifelessly. The crème paint had chipped off a lot and the red front door was peeling. The windows weren't that clean either, it gave the house a rather ghetto look. But, come to think of it, the rest of Midgar looked like this: shabby, crappy, and screwy.

The people of this place don't look too well either. A lot of children are sick with the flu or have terrible fevers. It's sad if you think about it, so many people here have abandoned their faith and hope. There are so many dreams lost or thrown away. Yet, many of us go to college. Ironic isn't it?

My plan is to finish school and get out of this dump, start a new life some place else. I want to make something of myself, but I don't know exactly how. But, I am sure that when the time comes, I will be ready. Then finally, I can get away from these losers while they frantically search for our non-existent mother.

Yazoo, Kadaj, and Loz scurried out of the house and into my car, about time they did. I threw my bag at Kadaj who sat in the backseat with Yazoo. Loz sat next to me in the passenger side.

We had exactly fifteen minutes to make it. I inserted my key into the ignition and turned it.

_Ckkkk. Ckkkk. Cnkkkkkk. _

Damn. C'mon start!!!

I tried again. Please start.

_Ckkkkk, Ckkkkkk, Ckkkkkkkk._

Ok, scratch that last statement, we have fifteen minutes, but we're not going to make it on time. My car won't start. I banged my head on the steering wheel, as I did, it uttered a honk sound. A few wimpy pigeons fluttered into the air.

I inhaled deeply, trying to think of what to do next since these three practically have no brains whatsoever. I was stuck in the car with three dumb retards.

Twisting around, I grabbed my bag from Kadaj's grip and ran out the car, leaving the front door open. I ran and ran and ran, ran faster, as fast as I could.

My bangs bounced around my eyes, making it a tad bit hard to see what was in my way, but it didn't matter. I needed to get to school on time, if I was going to—

**Thump!**

I was laying face down on the hard, unforgiving pavement. My head felt like it was going to burst; I was in so much pain. I raised myself up in a push up position with my knees firmly on the ground. I opened my eyes to see a trail of blood and saliva dripping down from my bottom lip, forming a puddle.

"Are you ok?" A small girl, Marlene I think her name is, kneeled in front of me. She looked quite worried, and apologized. "I'm so sorry!"

I wiped the blood from my mouth and grimaced. My breathing started to stagger because of running too fast, then falling suddenly. I looked behind me; her small tricycle was toppled over to its side because I tripped over it. I faced Marlene once more, "I'm fine."

"Big Brother, wait!" I heard Kadaj's faint voice in the background, it acted like a trigger. Without thinking, I automatically got up and began running again with my bag hitting against my back occasionally.

My heart pounded loudly against my chest, I could hear its deafening beat inside of me. Regardless, I kept running, ran faster than I ever did before. Perspiration slide down my face and soaked my hair. I just kept running. No looking back, just look forward and run!

I past by countless people wandering the streets, numerous stray dogs (some chased me half a block), and many vendors who cussed at me to slow the heck down. I almost ran into a car and a lady holding onto some grocery bags. I dodged them too, swiftly. I splashed into a large puddle, making my jeans wet knee down. Dirty water dripped down my ankles into my shoes.

I kept on going. Whenever my bangs got in the way of my eyes, I'd brush them off with my free hand. The wind hitting against me felt good, it cooled me down. All I could hear was the sound of the wind, my breathing, and my heart.

The college campus came into my view a few minutes later, I could see the gate. Yes, finally. My pace did not slow down, I picked up my speed. Ok, time to stop. Uh oh, my feet couldn't stop running, I was going too fast to slow down.

I clanged into the metal bars of the gate instantly. My head was spinning as I laid a hand on my forehead, but whatever. As long as I am here and have at least five minutes I am fine.

I rested my blistered hands on my knees and panted heavily. I made it. The gate creaked quietly as I pulled on it and stepped inside. It was crowded, but nevertheless, I found who I was running for.

Kairi.

Wait, I couldn't go up to her like this, not when there was sweat dripping from my face and I looked all tired. Heck, I was still panting. There was still some blood dripping from my mouth. Damn, damn, damn. I watched her laugh with some of her friends formed in a circle, all standing beneath a tall tree. The slight breeze swayed her auburn hair to the side, making her look dreamy. Ah.

A boy with spiky brunette hair had his back towards me, Sora. He's one of my best friends, but I know that he likes Kairi almost as much as I do. I think that I like her more than him, but I will never know. I saw him edge closer to Kairi, darn. That was supposed to be me!!

My fear is that she likes him too. If that's the case, then, well I'm hopeless. They'd get together, get married, have kids, and then---

"Riku!!!"

Oh man. I'd recognize that voice anywhere, anytime. It was…it was…Rikku, the girl who has the same dang name as me and never misses a chance to talk to me. It's so annoying. I was scared to turn around, afraid what might I see.

A thin hand rested on my shoulder, then slid down my arm, her sea-foam green polished nails fingered along my skin and interlocked with my hand. Gross.

Rikku glided in front of me, her blonde braids hit against my face. She wore a big smile and leaned towards me, examining my bloody lip. "What happened to you, Riku? You poor thing!"

Before I could say anything or make up some believable story, she pulled out a clean tissue from the pocket of her mini-skirt and wiped the blood away. I tried not to look at her because, well, her clothes were so damn revealing. Since I am so tall, I could get a good view at…ok anyways, I hate skimpy girls. They are so shallow and low. Another reason why I like Kairi, she's so modest.

"Thanks." I sighed. Things weren't going the way I wanted it to go. The bell hand just rung and the crowd quickly filed in through the entrance. I lingered behind Kairi with a great amount of distance as Rikku held onto my hand tightly. I wanted to just shove her down some well and leave. I wanted to smack her and tell her that she needed to buy some better clothes and to get off of me. I did neither, but I kept wishing that she were Kairi.

I ran, got hurt, and did all that I did for nothing. I didn't get to talk to Kairi. See, my plan was to talk to Kairi as much as possible so that I could get her to like me. We are friends and all, but we just aren't able to talk to each other as much as I wanted to. With my lame brothers around me, I look as lame as them. She'd probably want to stay away from me for life.

My brothers? Wait, where were they? Oh yeah, I left them in my car. Arrgghhh. Someone please shot me. Someone, anyone?! How can I be dumb enough to leave the world's stupidest fools in my most valued possession? They might be ruining it right now, messing with the controls and steering wheel. But, then again, if they had come with me, my image would get destroyed. Then, Kairi wouldn't want to talk to me because I am the brother of dumbasses. If I come home to see Faith in a bad condition, I am going to kill them.

Clingy Rikku had her grip around my arm tight, she walked with me to class and didn't let go until we stepped in. It sucks hell that we have the same first period. It sucks more that I have the same first period with Yazoo. But, one good thing is that Kairi in the class too.

Art Class.

I am not a very artistic person, but I like art. It's awesome. I get to sit in front of Kairi, but brainless Yazoo and crazy clingy Rikku sit with us too. Out of the four of us, Kairi is the most talented when it comes to drawing. Her painting and sketches were almost flawless.

Kairi took a seat in front of me at our table, she gave me a smile. "Hey Riku!"

"Hi!" I forgot about the fact that my lip was still messed up and I have sweat on me until she mentioned it.

"Are you alright? Your lip is bleeding!" She leaned forward, I could smell the warm-vanilla fragrance that she had on. Her cool hand touched my cheek. She…was…touching…me…I couldn't believe it.

She turned my face to the side so that she could get a better view in the light. "Do you want to go to the nurse's office?" She leaned back into her chair again and she looked worried. Worried for me.

Riku does not go to the nurse's office. Riku does not care about small injuries like these. Riku will stay here in art class with Kairi.

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry" I shot her a friendly smile and tried to think of something else to say.

"Guys will be guys." She remarked. Was that meant in a good or bad way? I will never know, the late bell rang and the class started. Our art teacher, Mr. Freeman, wanted us to draw whatever we wanted. He said it was a good way to see your artistic side and style.

Whatever.

Not too long after the bell rang, Yazoo barged into the room. He gave Mr. Freeman an excused hall pass and took a seat beside me. He didn't look or talk to me. Guilt. I felt guilt. I wanted to get rid of them so that they don't 'cramp my rep' and I ditched them.

Good Riku: How could you?  
Bad Riku: So what.  
GR: You are the devil.  
BR: They are. They are embarrassments.  
GR: Yazoo doesn't do anything to you.  
BR: Yeah he does.  
GR: Kadaj listens to everything you say.  
BR: Then why won't he kill himself already?  
GR: Loz isn't bad either.  
BR: You don't know what you're talking about.  
GR: They're your brothers and they are as good as you.  
BR: Are you done lying to yourself yet?  
GR:  
BR: I thought so.

Kairi quietly stroked her paintbrush up and down aimlessly. She mixed some colors together and swirled them together. I did the same. Yazoo didn't really do anything. He just sat there. Clingy Rikku glared at me constantly. On her paper, she painted a red and pink heart with my name written in the middle.

Kairi broke the eerie silence between us. "Yazoo, Riku, I was wondering if you guys were free tomorrow or sometime next week?"

Yazoo spoke up before me.

Bad Riku: You have to be faster than him.

"Yeah we are." He said, looking at her. He even gave her a smile.

Bad Riku: Freak, stop looking at my future girlfriend!

"Great! You guys should definitely come to the mall with us!" She exclaimed happily. "It'll be fun! I'll give you a call when we should meet and all."

I didn't want my brothers to come, but Kairi had invited them. Damn.

It was quiet again. I wanted to say something, anything, but my mouth refused to speak. Secretly, I was happy that I was going to go to the movies with Kairi and her friends. That's perfect. Best part was, Kairi invited us. Is that a good sign?

Yazoo silently drew random pictures and sighed occasionally. I was glad that it was like this, but he whispered to me. "Why did you run off like that?"

No matter how quiet you whisper, the people in front of you will be able to listen to every word you say. I have no doubt in my mind that Kairi heard him say that. I was afraid to look at her, to see if she heard. What would she think?

Rikku, on the other hand, watched attentively. I ignored him and continued my painting of a tree, a terrible looking tree.

"Why did you leave us?" He whispered again. The other student's voices drowned out his, but I could still here him. God, please shut him up. Not here, not now, not in front of Kairi.

"I didn't," I muttered under my breath, hoping that will make him quiet. My eyes stayed glued to my drooping tree.

"Yes you did. We all saw you." His voice began to get louder, just a bit.

"Yazoo…" I looked directly at him. "Shut up!"

Kairi heard me say that and I saw her look at me in a funny way. She looked at me then at Yazoo, and went back to drawing.

Good Riku: Good, now she knows you're a jerk.  
Bad Riku: Zip it!

I screwed up!!! Wait, maybe not. Everyone says shut up to their brothers once in a while, correct? My luck was not turning, Yazoo continued to babble.

"I can't believe you ditched us like that!"

Kairi's eyes shot up from her picture to me. Damn it. "You did what?" Her voice was stern and her eyes lost their softness.

"Nothing," I lied and faked a cough to get rid of tension, which didn't work.

Yazoo had the guts to tell her what happened. "Riku left us in his car and ran here this morning, leaving us behind."

I saw her mouth hesitate, but then she stopped what she was going to say. I think that she thought it was best not to saw anything but then she said, "If you ever need a ride Yazoo, I will be more than happy to give you once. In fact, we could walk to school every morning if you'd like."

Good Riku: Serves you right.  
Bad Riku: No, no, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening.

A bottle of white paint sat next to my elbow. Yazoo accidentally knocked it over when he was trying to reach for something across the table. The white oozed onto my amateur drawing of a willow tree. It was gone and wasted. I blame Yazoo. He said sorry and tried to clean it, but made it worst.

I hate my brothers.

-End Chapter-

Please Review. Thanks. I will let the number of comments tell me whether or not I should continue (interest level of readers).

I would appreciate it if the review included:  
- things they liked/didn't like  
-suggestions  
-comments  
-favorite part (important for me to know)  
-anything else you'd like to say.

I don't know if you guys are OK with the length of the chapters, but if not I will shorten them.

Thanks  
-Sora788


	2. Watch Out

**A/N:** Hello everyone : I hope you all like the story so far! I would really mean a lot to me if you reviewed for my story, telling me what you think. Anyhow, I really enjoyed writing the ending of this chapter and Riku's reaction with a certain someone : Also, for the Bad/Good Riku, I used script format to make it easier for everyone. Tell me if that works or not.

Paroxysm

Chapter 2

Kairi walked out with Yazoo at the end of class when the damn bell rang. I stood out the door in the hall, leaning against the wall as if nothing really mattered. Kairi's face was turned towards Yazoo, smiling and laughing. Whatever they were talking about, I will never know because Rikku came in front of me suddenly, smiling and talking about God knows what.

I sighed and left for my next class: Gym.

Gym

Loz was occupied talking with his friends at the corner of the gym room. I sat on the newly polished floor in the gym staring at some goofy kids sliding on the wooden floor since it the wax plastered on the wooden planks had made them slippery.

Rikku rushed to me when she saw me sitting by myself near the bleachers. She sat right next to me in her short shorts and tight small t-shirt that she changed into like the others.

"What are you doing here," she asked gaily to me, touching my arms with her long fingernails, "all by yourself?"

"Nothing…" I grunted loudly, my eyes eying Loz sternly. He seemed normal out here, but at home, it's like he's a different person. Why is that?

Before Rikku could start her endless, useless babbling, the gym instructor, Mr. Jones blew his whistle and called for us to the center. Today we were going to play volleyball, not my favorite sport but there was nothing I could really do about it.

The class broke into two different teams, Loz was on mine and Rikku was on the opposite. Loz was the server, so he stood directly behind me. Our team was going to start first, this was going to be to quite interesting because I doubt that he's ever touched a volleyball in his life. The coach tossed the ball to Loz and he caught it without missing.

I bent my knees just like everyone else when we began, and waited for Loz to serve. I sighed and closed my eyes, awaiting for embarrassment. I heard an object fly noisily over the net in front of me and my eyes shot open. He actually hit the ball and the ball actually flew _across_ the _net._ Un-believable.

Rikku was the first on the other team to hit the ball and it came whirling back to us. I got ready to hit it, but then Loz came from behind and pushed me aside. I fell onto the floor with a loud _thud!_ Loz hit the white volleyball with his fist.

My eyes trailed the white object as it hit a girl badly from the other team. She fell back just like I did when Loz pushed me, but she fell much harder. She sat up after the collision, wailing with pain as she placed a hand on her aching head. There was blood dripping from her nose. Everyone rushed to her to help her out. Mr. Jones blew his whistle again and stopped the game. Two other girls helped her to the nurse's room. Loz stood above me, looking pleased as ever. He looked down at me when the injured girl was out of sight.

"Sorry Big Brother, I just wanted to hit it." Loz flashed a cunning smile. The fact that he was capable of actually playing a sport - and playing it _well_- with such aggressiveness and that he had no problem hitting a _girl_ in the face shocked me greatly.

Loz offered me a hand for me, but I simply refused it. I got up myself without his help. He snickered cunningly - a face I have never seem him do before - as he got back to his place. I shook my head, as if it would help the fact that I got pushed my Loz then pwned me in public. I had no idea that Loz could be this _powerful_.

I sucked in the bad remarks I wanted to spit out as I struggled to keep a cool, relaxed mind. I stood up and glanced back at Loz who was still smiling stupidly.

"Hey!" I exclaimed to him, getting his attention. "Let's switch places."

Without hesitating, he came over to me and agreed. "Sure, go ahead." He roughly patted my back as I turned and went to where he had stood before. I felt the tension in the room when Loz and I switched places.

A wave of fear crossed everyone, everyone except for me. Since Loz was going to be the one hitting the ball, there was no doubt that the game would become much worst - after seeing what he did to that girl. I am sure no one wanted to have their noses bleeding by the end of the period.

It was the other team's turn to start, the guy looked a bit imitated but he hit the ball with grace and it came across the net nicely. It headed for Loz's direction, I saw fear leap into everyone's terrified eyes. They scrambled out of the way. Loz took another shot at it and it zipped back in a second. This time, the ball headed towards Rikku. She didn't move out of the way like everyone else, but she made a tight fist with her hand and punched the ball.

It made its way across the net, high in the air, to me. While trying to aim for it, I lost focused. It hit me hard on my head and I fell _again._

--xxx--

My eyes opened to see a ring of people around me. "Is he alright?" I heard someone say. "I don't know," someone else answered back. I sat upright, it turned out that I was in the nurse's office as well. By my side were Rikku and Loz, they looked awfully worried about me. I saw the girl with the terrible nose bleed slouching in a chair holding an ice pack in her hand against her face.

"My poor baby!!" Rikku exclaimed touching my head with her gentle hands, ruffling through my sweaty hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I muttered under my breath as she edged closer to me. Loz gazed at me not saying anything, for there was nothing to say.

"How long have I been out?" It was hard for me to ask this question, something I didn't think I would be asking.

Rikku suppressed a giggle and said that it had only been the almost the rest of the class period and that I had enough time to change back into my regular clothes and get to my next class.

Groaning, I hurriedly rushed to the locker room, Rikku followed not too close behind for reasons that I don't know, or wanted to think about. Loz headed off to who knows where and I didn't even noticed that he had left us when Rikku and I were halfway away from the Nurse's room.

It was empty and very silent in the boys locker room when Rikku and I stepped inside. My clothes lay loosely on the bench in front of my locker. I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into my already open locker. I felt Rikku's green eyes staring at me, following my moves as I tossed on my black shirt on and slipping out of my pants and into my jeans. I turned to her, breaking her hard gaze at me.

Her face was red and her eyes couldn't stop staring at me. How…ridiculous. Seriously.

"Why did you follow me here?" I asked emotionlessly to her. She looked up at me this time and hesitated as she tried to find the right words to speak to me.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright," I could barely hear her faint whisper.

Yeah right. Whatever crazy girl.

I brushed my way past her and rushed to my next class without waiting for her because I already knew that she may be already behind me.

Bad Riku: Tell that stalker off.

_Good Riku: Be nice Riku. _

Bad Riku: Shut up.

_Good Riku: No. _

I twirled around to find my stalker right behind me. I don't know what her problem was but I am going to ask to find out.

"Rikku?"

Her face brightened up the moment I said her name. Pathetic.

"Yes!" She matched my fast pace and was now beside me as I rushed past the barren hallways now.

"Why do you follow me _everywhere_?" It was getting bothersome to have this girl follow me around while not using common sense. I didn't like it, people might get the wrong impression. They may think that there is something between us, but the thing is, there will never be anything between us. I hoped I didn't offend her, not that I cared. But she wasn't speaking, she just stared into my confused eyes.

"Oh Riku," she grinned happily and sighed passionately in the air. She turned the corner, but turned around and blew me a kiss goodbye before leaving me. "You know you like it." She winked at me and scurried away.

Oh boy. What now? Next I bet she will come to my house.

The late bell rang as soon as I got to my next class. Phew, that was close because then I wouldn't have been allowed to go in. Not that it really mattered. But, I really wanted to talk to someone in there. Now.

My class now: Computer Programming

Computer Programming

I slid into a chair next to one of my other best friends, Sora. I always have to try not to laugh whenever I see him in front of a computer, but this was definitely not the class for him. Not now, not ever. He is the most computer challenged person I have seen in my life.

He doesn't even know how to use a computer properly. He couldn't type normally either, instead he would stab the keyboard with his clumsy fingers and type like that. It's sad really. I don't know how he's passing, or if he's really passing at all. That will be a mystery to me. How he even decided to take a class like this is beyond my belief.

Halfway into the period I got his attention. He was too busy glaring into the screen in front of him, trying to figure out what to do.

"Psst!" I hissed lowly for him to hear me, I didn't want to touch him unless it was necessary. His concentration never ceased with the screen. Again, I tried to suppress another laugh. It was just too hard.

"Dumb computer…," he muttered to himself, still unaware of my presence.

"Hey, Sora!" This time, I called to him a little louder, trying to raise my voice just a tad above the fast clicking sounds of the other keyboards nearby. It was too silent in the room, and it was full of computer geeks and nerds. Yuck.

"Hmm?" He threw a quick glance at me, then continued to look dazed.

"Can I ask you something?" I really didn't want to ask this, but I couldn't help myself.

"You just did."

"No, I mean something else." Why is he acting like an ass today? Trying to get smart with me.

"Shoot." He turned his childlike face to me this time instead of looking at his computer screen, giving me his undivided attention.

I did my best to sound casual when I asked, "So, like, are you and Kairi-" He cut me off before I could finish the dang question. I was going to ask if they were together, but turns out he could already knew what was coming.

"No, why?" It was like he could read my mind. "I mean…not yet."

Not _yet._ "What do you mean?" This was bugging me now, if not yet, then when, how, and _why?_ Clearly, I am the better candidate for Kairi than Sora. She can't be blind enough not to see _that_, right?!

He shrugged casually then said, "It's complicated, you know?"

No, I don't know. I don't know why she would be in the least interested in you. For all I know as of right now, we were just three best friends. Lately, I feel that's going to change. You and Kairi hang out together more than we all do together, but maybe that's why Kairi asked me to go to the mall with her or whatever.

"But…but what if she gets with someone else? Then what? What will you do?" Yeah Sora, what would you do if she doesn't chose _you_, then how will you react to that!?

Letting out a sigh, he smiled. "Well, I will be happy because she's happy."

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I hate it when he gives people that cheesy-ass smile and says cheesy things, things that seem like it's the right thing to do or say. I am beginning to wonder what Kairi sees in him that she doesn't see in him. Oh, wait, it's the dumb cheerfulness and being cheesy factor that gets people to love him no matter who they are…

"Oh."

After another ten minutes or so, Sora ruined the computer. I have no idea what he did, but it started to malfunction and make weird noises. Well, what do you expect from Sora?

--xxx--

Sora and I walked side by side when it was lunch time. Ha, 'lunch time', that sounds so stupid. Well, it's not like I have anything better to do anyways. We meet at our usual place as usual: under the large blossom tree in the school's courtyard. Kairi was already sitting in the shade reading a book.

We waved at each other when she looked up to met my gaze, I shot her a friendly smile as I took a seat next to her and Sora sat on her other side…unfortunately. None of us really ate anything, we just sat and talked. This is how it was everyday. But today was a bit different.

Not a moment too soon, I saw Yazoo coming towards us. He looked really happy and delighted. I can only imagine why. Kairi waved at him too and gestured him to hurry up and come over.

"Yazoo, you came! I thought you would forget to come!" Kairi exclaimed excitedly. She moved a bit for him to sit in between me and herself. This. Is. Not. What. I. Planned.

"Of course, you wouldn't think that I have forgotten have you?" He laughed a bit, the kind of laugh that attracts girls to him…I just couldn't believe this.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to whisper quietly in his ear so that Kairi couldn't hear me. Yazoo looked at me oddly.

"What do you mean?" His identical blue-green eyes stared into my blue-green eyes. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Heh, he's trying to play it cute…I _will_ talk to him about this later.

Whatever.

I ignored him and turned away to see Rikku already huddling into me. Her skinny arm linked with mine, her hard grip never loosened. I really should get this woman off my back. I secretly glanced at Kairi, she was too busy conversing with Sora and Yazoo to notice Rikku clinging onto me. Good.

Bad Riku: It's either now or never.

_Good Riku: Riku, don't do this. _

Bad Riku: Now. Or. NEVER.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Lets hope this works out right, for the love of all the things good and sacred in this unfair world.

"Rikku?" I waited for her to listen, not like she wasn't attentive already.

"Yeah?" Her eye lashes batted rapidly for a few seconds as her grip tightened around my arm (it was nothing I couldn't handle though).

Bad: Now tell her what a brat she is.

_Good: I advise you not too. She can cause problems for you later on. _

"I don't really _like _all this attention that you're giving me," I started, hoping she wouldn't cry her heart out or do anything idiotic like that.

Bad: Yes…

_Good: If you're going to say anything more, no doubt she will make a scene. Do you want Kairi to see that? If you tell Rikku to stop, um, being herself - being attached to you and all like she always is - she could make Kairi think that you're a jerk. Do you want that? Huh?_

"I love it." Shit. Why the hell did I just lie like that? Damn. Those dumb voices - well _my_ voices - inside my head were confusing me. First, one says to tell her to back off, but then the other one was telling me to wait for another time. But why the hell did I say that I 'loved' the attention? Shit, shit, shit, damn.

I saw Rikku's face lit up. "I know you do," she squealed. Then, she hopped into my lap and wrapped her arms around my reluctant neck. Oh boy. Her sudden movements and squealing caught Yazoo's attention as well as Kairi's. Damn. Kairi looked at us briefly then looked away, away into Yazoo's gaze.

Bad: Throw that slut of your lap.

I felt like doing just that. But, Kairi was watching me, so I couldn't do anything but listen to Rikku's endless ramblings about how she really likes me as she sat on my aching legs.

Damn.

Calculus 

Don't ask me how I got into such a difficult class like this one. Ok, so maybe cheating and getting nerds to do my work was part of it, but that doesn't really matter. I got most of my help from a girl named Olette.

Maybe it's because she secretly likes me or she just wants to help out a poor, unwilling soul. My mind wondered as the teacher rambled about who knows what as I stared out the window. So far, my day wasn't going as planned. Loz kicked my ass. Yazoo stole my place and actually talked to Kairi for a long time, while I had to deal with Rikku (which was boring as hell). And it was bothersome to have to wonder about what went on in Kairi's mind.

The bell rang, indicating the end of the period. Before I could get out of my chair, Olette was standing by me. She held a few papers in her hands, handing them to me. As I took them, she shyly said, "I took some notes for you."

Apparently she noticed me not taking any, not that I do in the first place anyhow.

What a sweet girl. I didn't have to ask her to do this for me, but she did it anyway. I took them even though I know that I wouldn't even take a minute to read through it. She walked with me for a few minutes as I we went to the other side of the building.

"Do you need help with anything?" Her voice was still quite, but nervous too.

"No thanks." I hate Calculus. Actually, I was beginning to think that it's a pretty useless course. I didn't want help in it. It just didn't matter to me.

"Ok" Her face turned a bit red when she waved goodbye to me. Now, why can't Kairi be like that? Well, not nervous and shy, but just _wanting_ to be with me…but I knew Kairi wasn't like that. She was more hard to get. It just wasn't east.

Chemistry 

Kadaj was in chemistry class unfortunately for me. I didn't like it, but we sat next to each other out of all the people. But I have to admit, I would chose him any day over Rikku - that I was sure of.

He didn't say much to me, just gazed at the people around him, avoiding any contact with me, by all means. I didn't care either. He was usually the quiet, silent one, but very commanding. Since I was older than him, he wouldn't dare raise his voice at me or tell me what to do. It was like he knew his place and I knew mine. However, with others, he wouldn't give a damn about who they were, he'd boss them around as much as he wanted do. He has a way of getting people to do things, its quite interesting actually. It's like his gift or talent, something like that among those lines.

I have to say, I prefer Kadaj over my other two brothers, but I still am not fond of him too much. Since he didn't talk to me, it was peaceful. That's how it's suppose to be and he knew that.

English

Last course for the day, thank goodness. Seriously. I hate going to this shabby, run down college more than anyone else in this hopeless town. But what could I do? I was thinking of moving somewhere far away from here as possible, but it depends on certain circumstances.

As usual, I spaced out in class. Not much to learn here in this dump anyways. The teacher continued on with her runts about Shakespeare and something else. The girl behind me sighed annoyingly and scribbled something down in a notebook. The scratching sound against the paper of her pen reached my ears. I couldn't help but to turn my head slightly backwards to see what she was doing.

Paine, was her name. She dressed all gothic - black everything - and wore a bored, depressed look on her face. Her personality was kind of hard to crack since she doesn't talk much to people. I sometimes feel that she feels the same way as I do - bored in this run down place like I am. I mean, who wouldn't be?

I faced forward when she noticed me staring. Her cold eyes had scared my gaze away. I wanted to talk to her, to get to know her because she was just so mysterious, but I could never find the guts to do so. I was harder than I thought. The dark notebook that she wrote it was always with her at all times. I wanted to know what was written in there, what kinds of things she wrote about. Gossip? A hit list - hopefully my name isn't on it-? Or some weird Goth cult thing? I don't know.

I felt a cold hand tap my right shoulder. I whirled around to see her depressed, moody face once more.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have an extra pen I can borrow?" It was awkward hearing her talk to me for the first time. Her voice didn't sound as harsh or depressed as I thought it would.

"Uh-huh." I fumbled through my things to retrieve the pen and I handed it to her. "You can keep it if you like."

"Thanks." With my pen, she continued to write in her notebook. I tried to get a peek, but my efforts were useless. I couldn't see anything, her arm covered the top of the book so the contents were well hidden from my curious eyes.

Looking up at me, she said, "What?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering what you were doing." I didn't mean to sound nosy or bothersome, but it was tempting for me to just snatch that book from her hand and see what she was doing.

Grunting lowly, her hands turned the notebook towards me. It certainly wasn't what I expected to see. On the lineless paper before me, Paine had drawn an almost completed sketch of an abstract looking car, or vehicle I should say.

Every detail was precise and carefully drawn, every line, every curve. There were metal exhaust pipes jetting from the bottom of the car, adorned with flame like designs on the body. The hefty looking rims on the tires added to the creativeness and originality of the drawing.

Damn, this gothic chic could actually draw.

"Satisfied?" She turned the book towards herself as she said this. Shaking her head a little, she continued on with her drawing.

Awestruck, I didn't say a thing and faced forward, sinking in my chair a bit.

--xxx--

At the end of class - also the end of the day - Paine caught up with me as I headed through the halls of crowded people and out the building onto the streets. "Hey, wait up!"

I stopped for a moment to wait for her, well this was a surprise to me. I didn't think she'd follow me to talk, I didn't know that she talked to anyone else either.

She didn't smile, but at the same time she didn't look too unhappy either when she stood in front of me with a blank, bored expression. Are all gothic people so difficult to read? I didn't say anything, waiting for her to speak first.

"Mind if I walk with you?"

"No, of course not." I didn't mind, but I didn't know why she wanted to in the first place.

"So, are you and Rikku a couple or something?" She didn't look at me when she asked this, but faced forward at the road ahead of us as we left the crumby building behind us in the distance.

I turned to the cobblestone walls on my side, paying attention to every stone in its place and the cement that held each stone together in unity. Green ivy clung themselves against the stonewall, with their spade shaped leaves waving in the air. A forest-like scent reached my scenes as my eyes rested on the site of the lavender colored flowers blooming in the center of the vines.

Focusing on Paine again, I gave her my answer.

"Most definitely not." My voice sounded slightly cold, but it was the truth. We were not a couple. This is what I was afraid of, people would think this and they already are.

"I see…" Her face looked calculating. Why she was concerned, I didn't know.

"Are you friends with her or anything like that?" For someone to be so concerned with a girl like Rikku, they'd had to have some relation to her, like a best friend or sister, whatever.

She nodded a bit, but still didn't look at me. I felt as if her mood was beginning to rub off on me and began to indulged me into a depressing state of mind as well. I shook my head as if it would change that creepy, bizarre feeling. It was like there were strange zaps shooting from her, affecting everyone's happiness to whoever stood next to her.

As we reached a corner ahead, she stated, "You look a bit…stressed out or angry, like you're frustrated."

"Really?" Did I seem that obvious? Did it seem so obvious that I hated my brothers so much and one, or all of them, had to ruin everything for me? Or that my hate from Rikku was beginning to get stronger and stronger every moment?

Her silence made me uncomfortable as she mused thoughtfully to herself and walked beside me at the same time, as if she knew that I hated Rikku almost as much as my brothers and that she is an annoying pest. After what seemed a hell of a long time to me, she finally answered me. "Yes, you do."

Oh whatever. Does it look like I care? No…I don't know.

We were walking through a small, thin puddle layered evenly beneath us on a sidewalk infested with mountains of cracks and breaks in the pavement. In the crystal clear water I saw her reflection, the concentrated look on her face seemed so determined and troubled, with a dash of worry blended in.

The still warm air added on to the solitude of the empty, soul free streets. Rays from the sun streamed through the clouds, pushing the gloomy, dark clouds away from sight. The loud sounds of Paine's boots hitting against the ground kept a steady rhythmic pattern playing in my head because it was so quite and peaceful.

"So…maybe I am," I answered breaking the silence. But, what does it matter to you anyways? What I didn't seem to understand was why she bothered to pay attention to me anyway, oh my bad, everyone can't resist paying attention to me. Ha.

"I hope you don't do anything irrational," she said to me in a dark voice as she stole a glance at my face. Her bleak eyes seemed to drill into mine, making me wince for a second at the negative gesture. Shoving her pitch black painted finger nails in her pockets, she titled her head slightly to the side. "If you break Rikku's heart, I'm going to break yours."

I stopped right where I was, as if the world stopped rotating.

What the hell did she say to me? That she's going to 'break' my heart? And what irrational act did she had in mind that she thought I would commit?! My aquamarine eyes widened in a confused way. Was I just being threatened by a girl, a depressed, emo-gothic girl?

Oh God. What has the world come to? When did the Goths defend the shallow? And why won't anyone see that its Rikku that's bothering me. It's the other way around people, please get it straight!!

Spitting out a force chuckle as I caught up with her pace, I remarked, "Well, we'll see."

Great. Just great. I knew that this might not be something to fret about, but everything she did or said felt like she really meant it. That's when it hit me, she wanted to walk with me to warn me about not hurting Rikku in any shape or form, to tell me that if I committed one false move, I would have to deal with her.

Heck, I didn't know what this girl was capable of, so I now I had to watch myself. She was almost as tall as I was and she didn't look too wimpy either. The delicate blends of various shades of grey and black makeup on her pale colored face seemed to suit her mysterious personality. Someone who wasn't afraid to be herself, yet someone who looked menacing.

I didn't mean to "check her out" when I took a much deeper note of her clothes. The spiky belt she wore around her waist gave her this particular edgy look. The black boots and metallic jewelry made her seem a bit mature. For a moment there, a sudden wave of fear came over me, but quickly washed away. Her hair style was quite eccentric and amusing if I dare say.

The eerie silence that followed us didn't seem to bother her as much as it did to me. I didn't really like being bossed and threatened by some girl, but for some reason, I didn't fight back with her. And I had a tingling feeling that if I did, she might get tougher. I knew she'd hold her ground because of her rigid attitude and they way she didn't hesitate when she wanted to get something across.

"Where are you going?" She asked me with a sudden change of attitude. One second she was dark and harassing me, the next she acted like _we_ were best friends.

In an attempt to make a lighter conversation, I replied casually, "I'm going over to Cid's. I need him to fix my car for me."

Rolling her eyes, Paine sneered. "You do know that Cid isn't the one who fixes the cars right?"

"What do you mean?" Cid, a long time mechanic in Midgar, owned the local car garage. Of course he'd fix the cars that people brought him, who else would be that experienced to do it? I go to him all the time too. In a run down place like Midgar, there were very few experienced people, so who else could do it?

Sighing dramatically, she answered, "I do." Her playful eyes met my bewildered ones.

"You do what?" I know this wasn't the time to play dumb, but I didn't want to believe what I was hearing.

"I am the one who fixes the cars, well, majority of them." Another dark sneer crawled on her face as she glared at me in a cunning, frightening way.

"Oh…could you pick up my car tonight then?" As shocking and unbelievable as this was to me, I thought that perhaps asking the person who does the job to get my car would save me a lot of time from walking another ten blocks. "It won't start so I can't really bring it over. You're going to have to tow it."

"I suppose so. I'll tell Cid to come over soon." The dark tone in her voice seemed to diminish slightly.

I handed her the keys to my car as we walked, she took them without question and began to toss them in the air as if they were toys. My eyed were following them, up and down in the air as she threw then caught them.

"Be careful with those," I said worriedly.

The only response I received was another snicker and sneer.

Then, out of what it seemed to be nowhere, I heard that familiar laugh. The sweet, candy-coated voice that got my attention from anywhere I was. If I were 1000 miles away, I'd know that the voice belonged to her and only her. Looking around me, I saw that I was searching for: Kairi.

My expression worsened when I saw who she was with. Stupid, ignorant Yazoo idly lingered by Kairi's side as the two walked down the paved sidewalk together on the opposite end of me going the complete opposite direction.

I felt the blood boil in my veins, my eyes narrowed down to my almost identical looking brother who walked down the side of the girl of my dreams. On the other side, Sora was tagging along. If only it was me that was with them now…If only Yazoo was taken out of this picture to be replaced by me. And if Sora was to be somewhere else, that would only make things better.

If I had a gun, I would Yazoo right now…and I'd aim for his head, right in the center.

Why don't you shoot yourself first for thinking such things, ya jerk?

That's when I remembered Kairi telling Yazoo earlier today about the two walking together from now on since I was being a "jerk" this morning. And guess what? I knew that Kairi would walk with Yazoo tomorrow too in the morning.

Riku, you have to put an end to this crap that they're doing.

Yeah right, how?

No, I had a plan. And it'll work. I know it will…for now…

"Alright, Riku. I'll see you around." Paine interrupted my devilish thoughts as she said her good bye, throwing a fist on my arm, kind of like those things guys do all the time. It didn't hurt too much, but a slight shred of pain seemed to dwell where she punched me.

Tough woman…

"Bye," I croaked, trying to hide my surprise and agony at the same time as she walked away and heading out of sight. Then I turned my attention towards the trio that gaily strolled down together away from me. It was like they were ahead as I was being left behind, to find my way to the end of a never ending tunnel.

Oh how I wanted to rip and tear the scene before me and discard it for the rest of my life. I never thought the day would come when Yazoo and Kairi would ever become friends. Ever.

-End Chapter 2-

**A/N: **Did you like it? I hope so. Sora is just too cute. In the game, they show how Sora doesn't know how to use a computer, so that inspired me. It was just too funny :D Please review, I really want to hear what you all think! Thanks!

Anyhow, Paine is certainly going to keep Riku under her eyes now!! Paine is one of my favorite characters, so I have her a slightly different personality than we're used to, but it dazzels me, lolz. Poor Riku. Wanna know what happens next?

-Sora788


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